Project two: Morocco froM AfAr thresholds
Ancestors of the Berbers arrive from the East
8000-7000 BC
Berber tribes unite to form ‘Maurentania’
400 BC
Vandals Africa
430-533 BC
in
north
Playtime: the tourist in a new place
Byzantine rule
6th Century
Spread of Islam among the Berbers
705
Morocco has become a major tourist destination since its independence in 1956.
Morocco ‘the western Kingdom’ lies in North Africa at the mouth of the Mediterranean. It is a fusion of African, Arabic and european influences creating a varied and colourful country in both culture and landscape.
recently tourist numbers have increased steadily at 11% each year.
Morocco is an independent country with a fes constitutional royal family and an elected government. the population exceeds 32 million and this is mainly made up of African Berbers, Arabs and europeans.
Marrakesh The first dynasty and Fes founded by Idriss I
789
Marrakesh founded
1062
Almohad dynasty
1130-1269
Merinid dynasty
1248-1465
The Spanish move into north Morocco
1497-1508
The Saadians take Marrakesh and make it their capital
1525
Alaouite dynasty
1664
The city of Rabat becomes the capital
1757
Morocco froM AfAr Setting the scene
the tourism sector is aiming to double by 2020 as part of ‘Vision 2020’ with emphasis on regional, sustainable and quality tourism.
Playtime: the outsider
Playtime: Glimpses of the ‘real’ Paris
Playtime: Searching for the ‘real’ Paris
Visit to Morocco Searching for the ‘real’ Morocco
Anticipation/arrival
New ambitions
tourist
Busy market
Peaceful riad
SeArcHING for A SeNSe of PLAce Playtime and Morocco
changing city
constant city
French troops enter Fes
1911
Treaty of Fes
1912
‘In Morocco’ documents wharton’s travels across Morocco at the close of world war one and her discoveries of its people, cities and culture. She writes with an awareness that she is one of the first to produce a guide to the country but also one of the last to see it virtually untouched by tourism.
Manifesto of Independence published
The French depose Sultan Mohammed V
1944
Morocco 1917
1953
The royal family return from exile
1955
Tangier Tarfaya returned Morocco
1958
and are to
this book gives a glimpse into a very different Morocco from the one that we visit today.
First constitution adopted
1962
Mohammed VI enthroned
1999
Changes to women’s rights
2000’s
‘Morocco is too curious, too beautiful, too rich in landscape and architecture, and above all too much of a novelty, not to attract one of the main streams of spring travel as soon as Mediterranean passenger traffic is resumed. Now that the war is over, only a few month’s work on the roads and railways divide it from the great torrent of ‘tourism’; and once that deluge is let loose, no eye will ever again see Moulay Idriss and Fez and Marrakesh as I saw them’ edith wharton ‘Having begun my book with the statement that Morocco still lacks a guide-book, I should have wished to take a first step toward remedying that deficiency’ edith wharton
Morocco today
‘IN Morocco’
the first guidebook and dawn of tourism in Morocco
Marrakesh before mass tourism. traditions and culture kept alive through the folk tales and legends retold by the storytellers in the jemaa el fna square
Mashrabiya screens privacy from the street
Public Shop fronts are open and with goods displayed in the busy street
Private Homes hidden from the street behind thick and austere walls
coNtrAStS IN Morocco
experiences of the tourists compared to life of the locals
for
Gueliz
In this book fernea retells her experiences of relocating with her family from America to Marrakesh in the 1970’s. the couple were interested in studying and experiencing the life of the Moroccans so chose to live in the ancient walled Medina of Marrakesh rather then join the other westerners in Gueliz, the new part of the city.
‘Gueliz was like we already knew, full of Western-style houses with gardens’ Medina
Playtime: confusion and alienation
At first the family find their new life in the Medina much harder than they had naively assumed. they describe their feelings of alienation and being lost and unable to navigate the ancient winding streets lined with traditional riad dwellings. In riads the windows and rooms face inwards towards a private central courtyard meaning that for a long time the new family never met their neighbours all hidden in their private retreats behind the heavy wooden riad doors and thick walls.
‘...scores of tiny, winding lines, stretching like the traceries of broken spider webs across the irregular rectangle that was the Medina’
Illustrated map of their new home: rue tresor
‘A Street IN MArrAKeSH’ A new life in a strange city
Modelling the narrow Medina streets
Locating the rue tresor with landmarks as anchors rue tresor
Navigation anchors in the skyline
jemma el fna
Koutoubia Mosque “But where is Rue Tresor?�
only the mosques pierce the low Marrakesh skyline
We stared at the map. Bob twisted it this way and that. We found Jemaa el Fna...we found Boulevard Mohammed Cinq...and the Koutoubia Mosque. We even found Rue Bab Agnaou, a long straight street leading from the old city gate of Bab Agnaou to the square of Jemaa el Fna. rue Bab Agnaou
But we could not find Rue Tresor. (A Street in Marrakesh)
there is a wide variety of landmarks on the London skyline N
Bab Agnaou
100m
Boulevard Mohammed cinq
the oxford skyline consists of spires and domes city threshold
NAVIGAtING tHe MeDINA thresholds and anchors
the Medina has no formal city grid. It is made-up of varying scales of roads and routes that have no overall pattern. this is why the Medina is difficult to navigate for a newcomer or tourist.
Boulevard Main roads outside the Medina walls
Sharia Streets
routeS tHrouGH tHe MeDINA
understanding the composition of the city
Zanka Narrow alley Not usually mapped
Sibha covered passageway
the riad offers hidden pockets of green and water - a secret behind thick red clay walls.
the simple doorway signals the threshold between the busy, dusty public street and the tranquil inner private courtyard
entrance passage separates the door from the courtyard
openings and balconies look down on the central space
the roof terraces offer a opportunity to see beyond the closed thresholds of street are broken across rooftops.
HIDDeN SPAceS
understanding the riad
rare and the the
In the narrow and confusing streets of the Medina the doors can act as navigation tools and landmarks to help find the way. No two doors are exactly the same. each one is unique through the use of colour, shape, design or ornament. the entrances to Moroccan houses are rich with symbolism. they are required to provide both physical and spiritual security for the inhabitants and protect the santity of the private home. the Medina can seem like a forbidden city as heavy defensive doors fortify the narrow and austere zankas and sibhas. ‘“Which is our house, Mama? They all look the same,” She was right. The walls merged together in the dimness, their rosy clay gray in the twilight, the Hand of fatima
“It’s the door with the silver hand,” I said, recognising the gleam of a door knocker halfway down the narrow street. ‘ (from ‘A Street in Marrakech’)
God’s name subtly carved in plaster decoration around the door
DoorS of tHe MeDINA
Physical and spiritual thresholds between street and riad
relief plaster pattern and decoration
contrast between Playtime and the craftsman tile making and geometric mosaics
carpentry and decorative wood carving
crAftING tHe cItY
traditional skills of the Medina craftsmen
A point of change
opens somethings that was previously unaccessible
A junction between two materials
the point before moving forward
the state of entering the unknown
A sudden or gradual moment of transition
can be anticipated or crossed unconciously
the point of starting or ending
An event the opposite of continuous space there is no architecture without a threshold
can be fixed or constantly shifting
the region marking a boundary
the difference between two elements
Moment that differentiates the inside from the outside
of tHe MeDINA
An entrance or doorway
Project tHree: tHe tHeAtre of tHe Street Shadows and Silhouettes
New city: Gueliz (twentieth century)
Marrakesh
walled Medina (Ancient)
Marrakesh (red city) was founded in 1070 and is now the fourth largest city in Morocco and situated in the centre of the country and at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.
raba Kedima: Spice square SIte: KNIKAt rAHBA
It has always been a culturally diverse city as it is a traditional stopping point for nomadic caravan routes across Morocco. today it is a popular tourist destination for europeans due to the new airport .
jemaa el fna : Main square
Gueliz
N
MArrAKeSH
Site location within the Ancient Medina
Medina
the theatre royale: the only theatre in Marrakesh Built in 2001 Includes: 1200 seated open air theatre 800 seated opera house there is no designated theatre building inside of the Ancient Medina
New city: Gueliz the theatre is located in the new city outside of the Medina
contrast: theatres in oxford Population:15200 people Number of theatres: 4
Ancient Medina
the theatre is located opposite the cities new railway station. It has more relevance to people arriving from outside the city rather than the inhabitants of the ancient city.
tHe oNLY tHeAtre IN MArrAKeSH theatre royale, Gueliz
Pattern of closing cinemas in Morocco
remaining open cinemas in Marrakesh film-making in Morocco is a growing industry, However cinema ticket sales have plummeted significantly in recent years 2002 - 10.8 million ticket sales 2005 - 4.8 million ticket sales this is due to DVD’s, piracy and the poor condition of many cinemas and their projection equipment.
New city
New city
Medina
cinema eden in the Medina this was a popular cinema for the male inhabitants of the Medina. It closed in 2009 and is now being used for storage.
campaign to Save Morocco’s cinemas and restore cinemagoing to its Golden era in the early twentieth century.
crISIS IN cINeMA
Morocco’s disappearing cinemas
MorNING juice stalls water sellers snake charmers
“...the spectacle of jemaa el fna is repeated daily and each day it is different. everything changes - voices, sounds, gestures, the public which sees, listens, smells, tastes, touches. the oral tradition is framed by one much vaster - that we call intangible. the square, as a physical space, shelters a rich oral and intangible tradition...�
AfterNooN storytellers magicians peddlers dancers eVeNING food stalls
uNeSco 2001
fire eaters
Medicine Sellers
Musicians
Animal charmers
Acrobats and Dancers
Story-tellers
All roads in the medina lead back to the square of jemaa el fna. It is the heart of the ancient city in a constant state of ebb and flow.
N
100m N
It is a meeting place, selling space, a space for performers and a performance itself.
tHe reAL tHeAtre of MArrAKeSH the square of jemaa el fna
Playtime: Searching for the real Paris
the Performer: orange juice seller
the Performer: Pharmacist
the Performer: Leather sellers at the tanneries
the Performer: Leather workers
eVerYDAY PerforMANce Searching for the real Morocco
Performers in jemaa el fna
the Storytellers of Morocco are practicing an dying art as performers age and die without new narrators to learn their skills and stories. for every death of a storyteller a whole library of folk-tales and stories are lost with him.
Hans Scharoun Berlin Philharmonic this concert hall was designed to emulate the spontaneous act of gathering around in a circle to listen to music
“Halka means circle, ring or luck. the halka is the universe because that was imagined to be circular ...the halka is a circle of people. At the centre of that circle is the performer. there is not just one ring because a halka is one piece of a chain” ‘the last storytellers’ Abdessalam el Hakouni
1. the hlaykia (storyteller) positions himself in a public space
2. He must attract and draw in his audience
3. He must sustain his audience with his wellrehearsed narrative techniques and dramatic story-line
trADItIoNAL MoroccAN StorY-teLLING Gathering an audience in the Halka
4. the audience is not passive but contribute to the performance and the story.
5. the storyteller will leave his story on a cliff-hanger to ensure that his audience will return for the next instalment. one story can take years.
the Halka (circle)
the Proscenium Stage
performer audience 4th wall PerforMANce coNtrAStS
Blurring the distinction between performer and audience
formal/organised Performance Space
Spontaneous audience gathering
order
chaos
Informal/temporary Performance Spaces
floating cinema
PerforMANce formal vs Informal
folly in a flyover
the cineroleum
theatre on the fly
Shadows as Performance
Shadow observations in Morocco
Playtime: Silhouettes
‘the Shadow Dance’ Samuel Van Hoogstraten 1675 Shading above the souks
courtyard Shadows
Human Shadow theatre
Shadow of the tall buildings in streets
Pattern-on-pattern: Shadow changing appearance
2D Shadow Puppets
SHADowS IN Morocco
Introducing Shadow Performance
3D Shadow Puppets
Shadow Hand Puppets
Shadow Animation films
“...it is one thing to research and gather together fragments of old shadow plays, but a museum cannot keep an art alive. If people don’t see the plays, they die.” Dr. Hoda Issa (lecturer at cairo university and writer of the dissertation ‘Shadows of fancy’)
origins Shadow theatre is the oldest form of puppetry. It is widely believed to have originated in South east Asia around 206 Bc spreading and evolving over the centuries throughout Asia, North Africa and then europe by travellers and Nomads. Shadow Puppetry is the art of the Nomad as it requires no additional equipment to what they already travel with. the earliest performances would have taken place using the sides of a tent and the light from the fire. Morocco has a long history of Nomadic peoples in the Sahara desert. Morocco’s centrally located city of Marrakesh has always been a stopping-place for travellers and ancient caravan routes across the country. this explains the wealth and diversity of influences, culture, craft and stories in the city that still attracts visitors and travellers form far and wide.
North African Shadow Puppets Precedent: Preserving the ‘intangible’ cultural heritage of the dying art of shadow theatre in china (uNeSco)
recording folk stories
Maintaining craft skills
Music
Performance
Archiving the puppets
the same approach can be undertaken to revive Shadow theatre in Morocco. Bringing together the local people with their culture and skills that are being lost to commercial tourism. through collecting, displaying, making and performing the ‘theatre of the Street’ can be spread to new travellers and visitors and reinvented for the future. elements of the Shadow theatre of the Street, Marrakesh
Playtime: Searching for a sense of a place Shadow Performance is the ‘theatre of the Streets’ - typically retelling folk tales and legends in a style and tradition particular to that region and place. the plays can be humorous, tragic, satirical, witty and political - anything that relates to the people of that city.
Storytellers
craftsmen
Aim of the ‘theatre of the Streets’, Marrakesh to enable inhabitants of the Medina and visitors alike to glimpse a part of the real’ Marrakesh through the performance of its stories buy its actors working with the products of its craftsmen and the sounds of its musicians.
MoroccAN SHADow tHeAtre reviving and preserving
Musicians
theatre in the street
Archive/display
Shadow theatre has not always been acceptable entertainment in Islamic Societies as it can mean representing the human form. today most societies are not this orthodox; however considerations can be taken into account to make this style of performance more acceptable: the screen acts as a tangible division between the physical and the world of the imagination.
the puppets are purposely abstract to make it certain that the scenes created are fanciful and not representing reality.
the light source is regarded as giving ‘life’ to the characters. this can be seen as a metaphor for the illuminating power of God and reminds the spectators of their human dependence on Him.
the bright but lightweight Halogen lamp reinvented the potentials in the relationship between light, screen and object in Shadow theatre performances.
this gives the performance a greater three-dimensionality, spatial depth and theatricality.
Positions for lighting during Shadow Puppet Performance Performer is close to the screen
Performer is further from the screen
Silhouette is close to the performers scale and it crisp and sharp
Silhouette is larger and lighter
the performer is able to be behind the screen but can also break through from silhouettes to shadows.
Positions for lighting during human shadow Performance
SHADow PerforMANce AND LIGHt the importance of illumination
Moveable joints
Precedent: Pivoting steel door, olson Kundig options for manipulation by the user for different needs and situations
Metal rod for movement carefully sewn to the leather
Leather for a moveable puppet body
Puppetry joints of string, wire and metal eyelets
the act of adjusting a the screens and lighting is an act of every-day performance.
Sketch Model one: Human manipulation Lights and screens backstage will be controlled and adjusted manually like a puppeteer would a puppet
Manipulation with string
Manipulated and changed performances and conditions
for
different
DeSIGN coNcePt
Puppetry and human manipulation
the visibility of the preparation reiterates the fact that the shadow performance is fanciful and is not trying to be a literal representation of the human form to satisfy the stricter Muslim inhabitants of the Medina.
Bending properties of bamboo
HuMAN MANIPuLAtIoN
controlling and adjusting screens
using Bamboo is different from using other wood materials as it is hollow. this means that conventional wood jointing techniques cannot used. Bamboo can be worked with simple tools; however its tough outer skin means that it dulls the tools easily. often the whole bamboo cane is used. this is rarely completely straight and this means that it can be difficult to standardise parts as everything needs to be subtly different. with its 3D section the use of bamboo screens act in a very similar way to light as the mashrabiya and diffuses the light
Bamboo requires preservative treatments and methods. this can involve either: smoking/soaking/ seasoning.
Bamboo is easy, sustainable and fast to grow as it only takes 5 years for the plant to be ready to harvest and use for building. there are over 600 species of Bamboo. It is part of the Grass family, but has the strongest outer layer of any plant.
weaving with bamboo belts (strips) these belts are cut parallel to the fibres and can be bent easily when soaked in water.
Bamboo has high resistance to tension, but its compressive strength depends on the diameter of the cane.
Planks used for structure
whole section of the cane used to let more light in
Precedent : Many uses of Bamboo the Butterfly Houses (Soe Ker tie House), thailand the bamboo cane (bamboo stem without branches, leaves, tYIN tegnestue Architects roots) is suitable for structural components such as beams, columns and trusses.
In this instance planks have been used for the floor, however other options include: - flattened bamboo - woven bamboo - split bamboo - small canes of bamboo
MAterIAL eXPLorAtIoNS understanding Bamboo
Shading opportunities with bamboo
Local/village scale farming
Harvesting
Harvesting occurs during the dry season when the plants have the lowest moisture content. the canes must be at least 5 years old. the canes are cut at the first node from the ground.
Drying
the bamboo must be stored and left to dry out for at least 4 weeks. the drying process can be speeded up but the bamboo must not be dried too quickly otherwise it will crack.
Precedent: Bamboo growing and shading Majorelle Gardens, Marrakesh
transporting
the bamboo is piled in bundles for transportation
reasons for choosing to use bamboo for the Shadow theatre: - High availability and local supply
A truck takes the bamboo to the edge of the city walls and then a donkey carries smaller loads through the winding streets in the Medina to the Shadow theatre Site.
- Low cost - Local knowledge of growing, using and constructing wth bamboo - Versatility of use in building (columns, flexible screen components, woven floors etc.) Making Bamboo is typically grown and then used locally as it can be difficult to transport long distances. Provides a living for local people in the growing, harvesting and building trades. Local people to Marrakesh would be skilled in using bamboo; therefore it is a suitable choice of building material to be constructed with the involvement of local builders and craftsmen.
uSING BAMBoo
Sourcing and transporting and using
- Informality: suitable for a theatre of the street instead of a grand and austere formal theatre building that would be unsuitable for the style of performance and spectator gathering in Morocco (the halka). - easy to replace or change components as the requirements of the theatre changes - Light and shadow opportunities with screens and canes - Lightweight but strong - Material Language of joints and rods similar to puppettry. Also an appropraite choice for the Medina.
N
10m
Spices Square rahba Kedima Square
Main Square jemaa el fna
N
100m
Site Location
A comma between two squares
Derelict riad
Access Gathering in the square
Public Street
empty Site Area
Metal and ceramic shops
N
existing Site
Ideas on how to use the site
existing : Passing through the site
future: Gathering in the site
Area cleared for site
jewellery Shop
ceramic Shop
Glass Shop
Instrument Shop
Bag Shop
Activities in the street
Scarf and leather shop
timetable for the theatre 9:00 - Deliveries of supplies and equipment to the theatre in the quiet streets. Archive opened for visitors. the performers can practice on the stages as few people pass. 11:00-13:00 - Performers use the outdoor street stages for the passers-by who will congregate in small groups around the performer without obstructing the quiet street.
9:00 Shopkeepers setting up but few tourists and shoppers on the street
11:00 the street is still quiet and the shopkeepers sit and talk to each-other
13:00 the street gets busier as tourists pass between the Main Square and the Spices Square
17:00 As the temperature cools the street is at its busiest with many locals shopping
21:00 the streets empty as the evening darkens.
Life on the Znikat rahba
Daily life and shops on the street
13:00-17:00 - As the street gets busier the street stage performances finish and the indoor and courtyard performances spaces are used to keep the street clear for people shopping an traveling. the archive remains open. 17:00-22:00 - As the light falls and the streets get quieter as the shops close the street shadow theatre can come into its element and crowds can gather in the street and seating landscape.
jewellery Shop
Area cleared for site
Leather Shop
Painting Shop
Bag Shop
Spice Shop
Bag Shop
this building has laid derelict for over ten years after the male owner died. He had two riads and two wives and after his death this led to disagreements between his children in the two families over what should be done with the house. this was never resolved and the building has been left ever since. A decades worth of rubbish now fills the site which is only inhabited by an abundance of cats. the problem of dereliction in Marrakesh 75% of the inhabitants of the Medina live in traditional Moroccan riads or Dars over 5400 of which are badly maintained with few rules governing their upkeep. occasionally these buildings fall down and around three deaths a year occur.
N
Marrakesh there are thought to be 239 ruins of buildings - offering rare breaks in the dense medina for new building opportunities. New buildings in Gueliz
SIte HIStorY
Dereliction in Marrakesh
Ancient Medina
Zouaki: A finely crafted Moroccan wooden ceiling. usually made of cedar as it is durable does not crack in the Moroccan climate. It is also rot and worm proof which is why this fragment remains. these are usually crafted in a workshop offsite and installed and then painted once in place.
Bejmat tiles: this is the oldest form of Moroccan tile-making. the tiles are often used for decoration and floors but here less decorative tiles are used in the dividing interior walls behind the clay bricks.
Zellige : this is the craftsmanship of handmade natural tilework made of terracotta and covered in enamel. the tiles are arranged into geometric patterns and the skills of the craftsmen are passed on from generation to generation between masters.
even its dilapidated state the riad betrays hints of its former days through the craftsmanship and remaining decoration
Although the riad is not being retained on the site the qualities of local craftsmanship and use of traditional materials techniques should be respected in the context of the Ancient Medina.
clay Brickmaking Handmade from material in mud pits, moulded into shape, left to dry in the sun and baked in earth kilns appearing as a red earth colour.
Asterley castle, witherford watson Mann Architects contemporary and innovative architecture whilst using and maintaining a respect fir the historical building and its materials.
LeArNING froM tHe DereLIct rIAD Materials and craftsmanship
riad from the street
the riad balcony who is the viewer - who is the performer?
Inside the riad Step-up thresholds between every new space the courtyard is protected and shaded by balconies from solar radiation
thick walls protect the inside from hot winds
cool air is drawn through the rooms to the openings the riad courtyard as a private retreat
Studies of the riad we stayed in (Marrakesh)
communication across the street
bathroom
A new central space created PuBLIc not private
these massings are concerned with breaking the traditional courtyard model to create multiple inside/outside spaces.
1
2
central courtyard - typical of the traditional riad formation. Normally unseen except by the inhabitants
4
creation of four open spaces rather than just one courtyard
It also tries to make the space feel more welcoming to the public in contrast to the austere and unwelcoming street facade of the traditional riad with one central courtyard.
kitchen
entrance - never enters directly onto the courtyard
MASSING DeVeLoPMeNt
overlapping of spaces and functions
seating alcove
this helps to increase access to day light and possibilities for natural ventilation.
colin st john wIlson Breaking the corner of the cube 3
fountain in the courtyard centre
Playtime: Loss of privacy
closed to the street
open to viewing from the roof
Public street
2m
Private riad Public Area Shops Abandoned riad
N
Moroccan Life the Seculded riad
Moroccan Life the public square
Site stage 1: Before dereliction only the street is public and it is used as a route to between the squares and shops. It is not a destination itself.
PuBLIc AND PrIVAte
tensions between the derelict riad, street and shops
Site stage 2: During dereliction only the street is public but the interior of the crumbling riad is visible from the street . It is now publically visible but not accessible
Site stage 3: the future the public street ‘puddles’ into a destination where people can meet, gather and enjoy the performances in and around the theatre as they move between the two larger squares.
function two: Increase humidity and control air flow outside
Inside
outside
Inside
Project one Light models ‘A Beautiful Mind’ Layers of darkness and light - isolation and separation
function one: Privacy Acts as a barrier between the private home/riad and the public street
Night cool air and moisture is retained by the wooden Mashrabiya
Day the retained moisture is released during the day when hot air passes through the Mashrabiya
function three: control sunlight and room temperature
the density of the lattice required depends on the orientation of the opening Precedent - ‘the english Patient’ (1996) Mashrabiya and dividers used to emphasise their separation and the difference between their private world and the reality of life outside. It is a barrier that can be seen through but not crossed.
South-facing facade Smaller lattice to let in less direct sunlight and protect from solar radiation to control the temperature inside the building
North-facing facade Larger lattice to let in more north light
function four : control light entering the room Venetian Blinds = intense glare
Mashrabiya= light diffused the Mashrabiya components are three dimensional with a circular section. this reduces the contrast between shadow and light and limits glare intensity entering the room
American Vogue (june 2013)
outside
fuNctIoNS of tHe MASHrABIYA Shadow, privacy and craft in Morocco
Inside
outside
Inside
Lighting and shadow through the screen
Lighting and shadow behind the screen
Screen movement and adjustment
Lighting and shadow through the screen
Lighting and shadow behind the screen
LIGHt QuALItIeS of BAMBoo
Spatial experiments for screens and walls
january Most shadow coverage
March North-east site area remains shadowless
july Least shadow coverage
Shading options must be considered to create a comfortable and safe outdoor environment for people to gather and watch the daytime performances. It must also be used to create the correct conditions for shadow theatre.
N
Moroccan climate
34
60
23
40
11
20
jan
rainfall (mm)
temperature
Suitable for outdoor events most of the year
Dec
High temperature Low temperature Precipitation
LIGHt AND SHADe Highlighting areas that require shading
traditional theatre Massing
Speed modelling: overlapping spaces and functions
workshops and archive
reX/oMA wyly theatre Massing
overlap of performance and audience
znikat rahba on Site: Massing concept over the street
Archive
front-of-house
Auditorium/audience
Auditorium/audience
Stage for performance
Stage for performance
Backstage
Backstage
N
10
INItIAL MASSING
overlapping of spaces and functions
Halka concept: Blurring the boundaries between spectator and performer and the encourages spontaneous gathering of an audience.
Archive the archive is to be connected to the backstage areas and acts as storage and display for the puppets / props / instruments / stories / tools used in previous shows.
front-of-house / walkway Archive Spectators gathering space existing: Passing through the site
Its role is to educate visitors on the history and craft of Moroccan Shadow Performance but also promote its future.
Performance N
Backstage
10
It will require both natural and artificial lighting.
Skylight / light-well Backstage this must include space for the storage of the shadow projection screens and the puppets / props in use. It needs to enable access between the stages and easy access to the street for deliveries of equipment. this is where the shadow screens and lighting systems are controlled.
future Aims: Gathering in the site Performance
Performance exists both over the street and at street level. It overlaps with the activities on the street and is clearly visible at different viewpoints from the street.
Shading Shading for the performers and gathering spectators. this is a very important feature of an outside space in Morocco where people are likely to spend long periods of time watching a performance.
Gathering Viewing space has easy access from the street and merges with the street N
10
communication across both sides of the street Breaking division caused by the previous use of the site
MASSING DeVeLoPMeNt exploration of requirements
front-of-house / walkway Archive Spectators gathering space Performance N
10
Backstage Skylight / light-well
tHeAtre AcroSS tHe Street
first section exploring the interaction of the spaces and street
Lighting Precedents: Glass skylights above the roof-line of the surrounding buildings.
carlo Scarpa
coop Himmelblau Grafton Architects
this is not a strategy common in the climate in Morocco. open courtyards and light wells offer more suitable alternatives for natural lighting and ventilation.
Precedent: Marrakesh Madrassa courtyards within courtyards
Light Distribution: Section the rooms remain cool due to the thick walls of the Madrassa and the elimination of direct sunlight through the use of inner courtyards open to the sky and from the cooling of the water in the main courtyard.
Precedent: Sensing Spaces, Grafton Architects Small street side openings
Light Distribution: Plan Most light is from the central roof opening
StrAteGIeS for LIGHtING DeNSe urBAN SIteS Alternatives to the use of glass skylights
central space lit from Sunlight diffused through Indirect sunlight is guided towards above. Light controlled hanging screens. thick walls. In Morocco this and shadows accentuated technique could be used to store through the use of lowthermal mass to be released in hanging screens. the cooler evening and night conditions when the building will still be in use.
Archive Spectators gathering space Performance N
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Backstage the purpose of the shadow tower is to act as a beacon across the surrounding rooftops but also help create additional shadows across the site to aid the conditions for shadow theatre.
Breakdown of Performance Areas Projection performance / film Large human shadow performance Small indoor shadow puppet stage
this tower has a potential problem as it rises above the height of the surrounding buildings meaning it is not in shadow. this means that it may heat up more quickly, but can also be used as a ventilation tower.
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furtHer MASSING Breakdown of performance areas
Screen model developments: Adjusting and layering
MAIN StAGe oVer tHe Street Development of moveable bamboo and fabric screens
Precedent: Adaptable theatre environements
the canopy is manipulated into the concert position to enhance the multi-purpose theatres acoustic environement. the screens are stored in the flytower.
Hanging translucent screens on a lightweight bamboo structure. they are pulled and pinned to create differnt lighting conditions and performance spaces.
the canopy is positioned for the lighting effects required for the scene of the play. the screens are concealed and revealed to create different scenes.
Shadow performance space development models
trANSLuceNcY AND LAYerING
Spatial development of moveable screens
Precedents: Viewing from many angles further massing development: testing the relationship to the street
central courtyard
La traviata performed on a cantilevered mirrored stage. this drastically changes the performer-audience relationship as the singers can be seen from completely new angles and must rethink where their positioning on stage to sing to the audience.
castle Vecchio, carlo Scarpa the cangrande della Scala statue is visible from all angles through windows, staircases and bridges. this multidimensional viewing experience for the onlooker was unlikely to have been envisaged by the sculptor
Main stage Backstage Archive Small indoor theatre Spectator gathering all-around
Main stage over the street. Light from the main stage filters down to the street below.
DeVeLoPMeNt: GAtHerING AND wAtcHING experiencing the theatre from the street
Playtime: Illuminations
1:200 Model
1:100 Model
outdoor projection courtyard
Indoor performance space
Screen storage and backstage
Street passing through
Main Stage
Hanging Screens: used and stored Shading the outdoor spaces
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theatre illuminated just above the Medina buildings and visible like a beacon from the surrounding rooftops
BuILDING DeVeLoPMeNt wItH MoDeLS
exploring the arrangement and height of the building in context
Breakdown of the distinction between the main stage and backstage
Kengo Kuma Nangchang Nangchang Installation Shows the flexibility of thin bamboo strips built up in layers.
Adjusting the theatre is a performance
Layers of flexible bamboo used for walls. they can be adjusted to let more or less light through.
PerforMANce
on-stage / backstage
Screens stored in the tower above the staircase
Precedent : Grafton Architects, Sensing Spaces
Shaded seating landscape
Main Stage above the street
Screens hanging backstage
Archive and projection courtyard
Movement and layering of screens . they will flutter in the naturally ventilated tower where they are stored when not in use
Shadows of the screens move throughout the day in the tower above the staircase
StorAGe of tHe SHADow ScreeNS
Developing the spatial qualities of the backstage areas
Spectator gathering landscape
Layers and covering shading concept
Sketch Model 1
Sketch Model 2
Informal seating landscape for spectators to gather on, under or around.
outDoor PerforMANce Shading and seating
Layers of movable screens
Bending
Screens become shading
western light will counteract any lighting behind the screens and mus be shaded
Sunlight from east utilised during daylight performances to help light the screens from behind
the screen store tower rises out of the shadows created by the dense surroundings
View of l the archive from the street
Pattern and shadow fall across the street from the use of bamboo
the theatre of the Street during an evening performance
Stage shading courtyard shading Moveable Screens
SHADING AND LAYerING Screen and movable shading development
ScreeNS AND SHADING DeVeLoPMeNt Main stage over the street
main stage image
Simple beam meets column
joints modelling for the stage structure Points for making bamboo joints: - All metal elements must be anticorrosive - All holes must be drilled first before nailing otherwise the wood will split. - Difficult to standardise joints - joints are strengthened with cement mortar.
MetI Handmade School, Bangledesh
eXPLorING BAMBoo coNStructIoN joints and structure
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eXPLorING MAterIALItY
Development plans showing floor coverings in the main building 1:100
more model photos tests for the section
2.
3.
3 1 2
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1. Main street stage 2. Indoor shadow puppet stage 3. Projection courtyard
1.
tHeAtre of tHe Street
Breakdown of main performance spaces
Screens hanging above the stairs for storage Light well
Layer for manipulating the screens and lights
Gathering and watching landscape
Screen store
Performance
Stairs to all levels Street Looking at the show notice board
Box office /shop
terraced courtyard
Projection room and store refreshments and cloakroom
SeALeD / oPeN areas
courtyard entrance
Movement of screens between the performance spaces to storage in the stairwell/light-well
Street entrance
StrAteGIeS
circulation, storage, lighting and ventilation
Natural Ventilation in the Shadow tower means that the screens gently swing and move their shadows round the tower,
Ground floor and street
first floor
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PerforMANce AND cIrcuLAtIoN Informal gathering from the street
2m
eVeNING PerforMANce
theatre of the Streets, Marrakech
Street perspective
courtyard / projection perspective
Part 1: Projection room/ screen storage / staircase / main stage
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Part 2: Indoor performance space / archive
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Part 2 is analysed in detail for the technology submission. It demonstrates the same strategies as Part 1, but on a smaller scale. the building was evolved and developed as one integrated building and has only been separated into ‘parts’ to aid the explanations of the strategies.
tHe tHeAtre of tHe Street
evolution of the archive and indoor performance space
requirements: Indoor performance 1. Inital sketch
2. Initial skylight explorations
3. communication between archive and performance
continuation of the gathering ‘halka’ consideration of the needs of a more performance concept used in the main intimate performance using hand-held shadow puppets. street stage.
requirements: Archive
4. Natural lighting explorations conclusion: limit the use of glass for the roof lights Space to record and store the plays and stories to prevent them from being oral and eventually lost.
Suitable display strategies for shadow puppets.
Material language: Studio Mumbai the Madrassa demonstrates a more effective and vernacular approach to natural lighting.
Heavy masonry with light screen or translucent elements
INItIAL DeSIGNS
evolution of the archive and indoor performance space
5. Developing the performance space lighting strategy Screen and puppet storage can be hung above the theatre between shows but still displayed to the archive
Archive
Indoor theatre Natural light to illuminate the screen the puppeteers perform behind this will be aided by Halogen stage lighting
Screens for Shadow theatre Light comes from behind through an bamboo screen to the street. this enables the performers to be lit from behind against the screen and be spied from the passers-by as well.
6. using the courtyard as a light source
Naturally Ventilated cool air
under floor heating (for use in winter) Heats the thermal mass of the concrete slab and the rammed earth walls and the heat is released slowly ensuring a constant temperature Natural ventilation openings
StrAteGY DeVeLoPMeNt Light, ventilation and heating
Precedent Daylight House takeshi Hosuka
Skylight Idea
INDoor tHeAtre exploration Section
1:50 SectIoN Indoor performance and archive
Ground floor Plan
Indoor theatre
Material option one - concrete with bamboo formwork first floor Plan
1:1 experiments
fold-out shadow puppet storage against windows for back-lighting
Material option two - rammed earth reasons for choice: local skills local availability of resources ease of build site being excavated - reuse
MAterIAL eXPLorAtIoNS Load bearing walls
using bamboo canes for rammed earth formwork
rammed earth workshop
Dead load from the first floor
Live loads from visitors
crushing the clay
Load from the first floor archive
Live load wInd
Live load wInd
Load transfered through the walls
Mixing with sand
Load transferred to the concrete slab
Building the formwork
Building the formwork Ground floor Plan Loadbearing walls
Start to compress earth into the formwork
PrIMArY Structure
Loadbearing rammed earth
tiled Surface for reflections
Street surface
Porous Boards for the clay soil
rammed earth
rammed earth
Mortar Layer
Insulation
Initial idea
tiled floor
Screed and underfloor heating Insulation
Drainage
DPc concrete Slab
fouNDAtIoN DetAIL 1:10
rammed earth floor and foundations below street level
Load transferred down the columns to the concrete slab
Ground floor Grid
bamboo deteriorates quickly if in contact with the ground - only last 1-3 years.
columns - fill with cement up until the first node to prevent splitting
exchangeable lower end of the column - replace base piece
prefab possible
SecoNDArY Structure Bamboo frame
Bamboo connected to the foundations with a steel bar and plates to protect from rain splash
Load transferred down the columns to the concrete slab Modelling the joints
Horizontal loads transferred from the columns to the columns and rammed earth walls
first floor supporting grid
tertIArY Structure Bamboo frame and floor
with bracing without bracing
Studies of Moroccan Scaffolding between buildings
100mm diameter
Bracing Studies
Beam
Hardwood pin
Supporting piece Lashing
tertIArY Structure
Bamboo frame and bracing
Double column beam
1:5 detail of bamboo joint with ties and wooden peg
Inside of canes filled with concrete around joints
SectIoN DeVeLoPMeNt
rammed earth and bamboo structure
SectIoN DeVeLoPMeNt
rammed earth and bamboo structure in use